Auburn was undefeated, sure, but the possibility of playing for a championship really didn't sink in until late October. "We were playing Arkansas or LSU, we looked up and we said, 'Man we can do this,'" the senior defensive end said.

It's that come-from-nowhere experience -- when Cam Newton emerged as the Heisman front runner and Nick Fairley was terrorizing offensive lines -- that makes Ford believe a surprising 6-1 start for No. 11 Auburn this season could lead to much more than just a return to the postseason.

"I think we can win it all," Ford said. "You know? There's no reason to say that we can't. We said we wanted to have the biggest turnaround in college football. Why not win it all?"

First-year coach Gus Malzahn is leading a remarkable turnaround through seven games. The Tigers were 1-6 at this point last season, and with many of the same players, the offense has improved dramatically in every category with new quarterback Nick Marshall at the controls.

One only has to look at the production over the last two games -- 1,327 yards, including 890 rushing, and 107 points -- to see just how far these Tigers have come.

"We definitely went from playing for nothing last year to playing for a lot this year," Ford said. "I think the sky’s the limit."

Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall (14) celebrates with teammates after the 45-41 victory over Texas A&M at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

The 45-41 victory at then-No. 7 Texas A&M last week on CBS certainly convinced many voters -- and the BCS computers -- to elevate the Tigers in the polls. They jumped 13 spots in the Associated Press poll Sunday.

"We've been working on getting our edge back and we're getting closer," Malzahn said Saturday. "It's a big win for our program right now."

Auburn (6-1, 3-1 SEC) controls its own destiny in the SEC West with games against Arkansas and Tennessee on the road, and Georgia and Alabama at home remaining on the schedule.

"There's no question that there is a different, I guess, expectation or situation that comes with people hunting (you) more so to speak," offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said. "I think the best thing our guys have done is just kinda work on what they can control and all we can control FAU. We've got to win this week. We've got to get win No. 7 and if you don't do that, nothing else matters.

"That is a big challenge, to see how mature we are. I feel like our guys have responded when we've asked them to respond to things so far this year and so we're worried about one thing this week: who cares where we're ranked?"

Auburn has long been motivated by its 3-9 finish last season, when an SEC losing streak stretched to 10 games and the Tigers fired Gene Chizik, the very coach that helped lead them to a BCS national championship in 2010.

A lot can change from year to year. It's happened before. Why can't it happen again?

"We're going to keep getting better every practice, every game, every week, and look and see where it can take us," Ford said. "We can definitely win it all if we do that."